Dark clouds were gathering and covering the sky above Greta Fortress at an alarming speed. In less than a minute, the clear sky had been covered by dark clouds. Moist wind blew between the plains and the hills. Even the rustling of the trees in the forest seemed to be mixed with the sound of water splashing. The soldiers who were fighting against the Mutants quickly noticed the unusual change. The soldiers who still had the strength to fight against the Mutants looked up and saw the "smiley face" that stretched across half the sky and was getting bigger.
"What the f * ck is that?!" A knight captain with a hideous scar on his cheek looked at the smile floating in the clouds in astonishment. No matter how he looked at it, this thing was too creepy. Even the experienced knight felt goosebumps all over his body. "That cloud is grinning at me! And it looks like the face of a girl! "
The sound of a missile piercing through the air came from nearby. A battle mage beside the knight captain who was responsible for suppressing the team's firepower fired a barrage of arcane missiles in the direction of the enemy. Then, the extraordinary individual who had cast his spell until his consciousness was blurry also looked up and subconsciously rubbed his eyes hard, mumbling as if he was sleep-talking, "Am I dying … I heard that people will see the face of the person closest to them in the sky when they are about to die … My grandfather became a beautiful girl in the sky after he died?"
Before the battle mage's voice trailed off, a rush of footsteps suddenly came from nearby. Then a Knight in light armor rushed out from the corner of the bunker. The young Knight shouted, "The king's order! Friendly fire is about to arrive. Leave this area immediately and retreat to Greta Fortress! The king's order is to retreat to Greta Fortress! "
"Retreat?" Captain Knight grabbed the Knight who was about to run past him. "Friendly fire? Where did this friendly fire come from? Didn't you say there were no more reinforcements? "
"I don't know! Follow the order! " Knight said quickly. He turned around and ran to the other side of the bunker, continuing to convey the direct order of King Aldris.
Just a moment ago, the order he received was to defend the battlefield at all costs. Now, he received an order to retreat. This made the knight captain a little confused, but it did not affect his obedience to the order. After quickly suppressing all the doubts in his heart, the experienced knight captain grabbed the battle mage next to him who was obviously distracted. His loud voice echoed in the battlefield he was in charge of. "Retreat!"
On the long and narrow wasteland leading to the wasteland, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Kaolin, who had been fighting a bloody battle for almost a day and a night, began to retreat quickly. As they retreated, they did their best to leave a large number of magic traps and magic crystals that were in a critical state on the frontline. In the temporary command post behind the frontline, King Odris's gaze constantly swept across the sky, paying attention to the changes in the clouds amidst the increasingly dense rain.
"The order to retreat has been issued, Your Majesty," the commander's voice came from the side. "The mutants are quickly occupying our previous position."
"Very well, we are also going to retreat to the fortress," Aldris nodded and said quickly. "Remember to leave some explosives. It turns out that the charged Rebecca crystals can be very useful even if they are not used as artillery shells."
The commander immediately received the order. At this time, Prince Lorraine could not help but ask, "Father, are we really going to retreat completely? Perhaps we can leave some elite rangers to cooperate with Cecil and the sirens... "
"You don't understand their fighting style, especially Cecil's." Aldris shook his head and looked at his heir, who had just come of age and lacked a lot of experience. "On the battlefield, the best cooperation with Cecil's people is to leave their range of fire as soon as possible, the sooner the better. If you have seen the video data, you will know that the new magic cannons they use are completely different from the 'long-range firepower' you know..."
Not long after, the temporary command center where Aldris was also began to retreat in an orderly manner. The flag representing the Kingdom of Kaolin was lowered from the quickly-formed wall created by the 'Mud to Stone' spell. Behind them, the dark clouds covering the entire battlefield had reached a critical point. The sky was almost the same as the night sky was surging with water. Between the thick clouds, a huge, faintly shrouded figure suddenly swept out of the darkness.
In the form of a Giant Dragon, Asalena flew through the thick clouds. She was covered in a mechanical armor made of steel. The faint light of the beacon lights at the end of the dragon's wings and tail flickered. The terrifying clouds around her seemed to spread out consciously around her, not affecting her flight and observation of the ground. After circling for a short while, Asalena activated the magic network terminal on her chest.
"They have retreated... Well, there are actually people who can understand the 'signal' sent by the sirens. The 'understanding' of those humans is really not ordinary. Byron, get ready to fire. Those monsters have entered the target area. Listen to my report. "
A moment later, a sharp whistling sound pierced through the thick sky. From the direction of the Holy River of Oldo, several flashing light lines rose into the sky. They drew arcs in the sky as they flew straight to the vast wilderness northwest of Greta Fortress. Standing in the direction of Greta Fortress, a series of flashes suddenly appeared in the dark clouds covering the sky. It was like thunder shuttling through the clouds, and there were sparks falling from the sky. After a short delay, the sharp whistling sound from the sky turned into a terrifying explosion on the ground.
On the ground, the mutants who had just 'breached' the human's last line of defense and were occupying the position held by the soldiers of the Kingdom of Alpine like a tide were instantly swept away by a series of explosions and deadly shockwaves. The commanders behind these monsters did not even have the time to feel the slightest joy of breaching the line of defense before they instantly received the feedback of a large number of deaths on the frontline.
On the towering walls of Greta Fortress, King Aldris, who had just retreated to safety, did not even have the time to take off his cloak and wipe the rain off his hair before he heard an earth-shattering explosion from the northwest. The terrifying sound of muffled thunder rumbled between heaven and earth. Even from such a distance, the ancient and glorious fortress was still shaken. The windows, which were protected by stainless steel frames, trembled slightly, and the shelves and weapon racks made a disturbing sound as they shook. Prince Lorraine ran to the observation deck. A huge mushroom cloud rose from the ground in the distance and the bright arcs in the clouds stunned the young man, who had just stepped onto the battlefield and did not know much about 'contemporary art'.
He even trembled slightly in the face of this calamitous power. But it was not out of fear, but pure shock.
King Aldris had also come to the observation deck. When he looked at the land covered in flames and saw the Cecil expeditionary fleet firing 'truth' shells from the direction of the Sacred River, the king was actually not much calmer than his son. After all, all he knew about Cecil's modern weapons was limited to the videos in Cecil's official propaganda and a few imported medium and small caliber magic cannons. Seeing the bombardment from the main cannons of a battleship up close was a completely different concept.
"Father..." Lorraine finally understood the necessity of his father's order to retreat. "How can 'magic cannons' produce such a powerful bombardment? That's what we use... "
"Cecil's people call it 'truth', and some of their soldiers prefer to call it 'contemporary art'. The medium and small caliber magic cannons we can import are worlds apart from the main cannons," Aldris said in a low voice. "But compared to the power of those cannons, I hope you can start to think about a deeper question from now on."
Lorraine did not understand the meaning of his father's words for a moment. "A deeper question?"
"What kind of country can create and maintain such a force?" Aldris put his hand on Lorraine's shoulder, but his eyes looked over his son's shoulder, overlooking the kingdom's soldiers who had just evacuated from the battlefield and were resting in the courtyard of the fortress. "I'm a little envious …"
...
"The first wave of attack has landed. The landing point is within the predetermined range. The error is acceptable." In the bridge of the Winter, Byron was standing on the platform of the captain's seat. Ashalena's voice came from the magic network terminal in front of him. The holographic projection above the terminal flickered, showing the land under the bombardment. In the continuous flashes, the muddy tide formed by the Aberrations continued to splash like huge boulders. A large number of hideous and twisted remains of flesh and blood and dust rose into the sky one after another. It was a shocking sight. "Continue the bombardment."
"Bombardment is effective. All main cannons are charged to full power and fire at full speed for 15 minutes." Byron immediately ordered the artillery chief beside him. "The engineering ship is ready to dock, and immediately repair the hub tower that was detected in the air. We have to restore direct communication with the Kingdom of Kaolin and the Silver Empire before sunset today."
"Yes! Sir! "
The army operated quickly like a sophisticated and efficient machine. The expeditionary fleet led by the Winter threw powerful firepower over the river. In the sky of the eastern region, thick dark clouds continued to spread and began to spread rapidly toward the east.
Byron glanced at the dark clouds covering the sky and could not help but turn to look at Kassandra, who was standing beside him. His expression was a little strange. "Speaking of which, the 'signal' you sent to the Kingdom of Kaolin was actually understood..."
"It's mainly because His Majesty Gwen communicated with the battlefield in the south." Kassandra smiled. "Of course, General Vanessa's battlefield wisdom is more important..."
"To be honest, I don't think it's' battle wisdom 'to hang a smiley face bigger than a city in the sky. That thing can simply scare people with average tolerance. It's almost a miracle that you were able to successfully convey the message of' friendly reinforcements'." Byron twitched the corner of his mouth. "Fortunately, the other side's perception was on point …"
"We had no choice." Kassandra spread her hands helplessly. "When we arrived here, we found that all the magic network hub towers at the border had been destroyed by the mutants, and the magic environment on the battlefield was unprecedentedly chaotic. The communication equipment of the Winter could not reach Greta Fortress at all, and the frontline was almost brain-dead. We could only use a stopgap measure. Anyway, let's not talk about the details. The result was pretty good. "
"... Anyway, the next time I hear you talk about 'battlefield wisdom' and 'improvisation', I will ask you more about it." Byron sighed and then turned his attention back to the battlefield in the distance. In the aerial reconnaissance image sent back by Asalena, he could clearly see the offensive of the mutant army gradually disintegrating under the bombardment. But he knew that this firepower alone was not enough to take back the entire narrow plain north of Greta Fortress.
From Greta Fortress to the propulsion base of the Stellaris Temple in the east, the entire southern battlefield had a long and complicated frontline. And this frontline had been repeatedly seesawed in the past winter by the mutants and the mortal defenders. It was a chaotic land full of ruins, traps, and magic chaos points. In such a vast and complex battlefield, firepower support had its limits.
"After this round of firepower, it's time for the expeditionary army led by General Vanessa to 'land'," Byron glanced at the mechanical clock fixed on the column next to him and said to Kassandra in a deep voice, "According to the plan, we will first ensure the safety of the northern area of Greta Fortress, and then build a frontline base after you have taken over the area. Then my marines will ensure the safety of the northwestern border of the Kingdom of Kaolin and completely block the mutant army coming south from the Augori region. You will continue to move to the eastern area by means of rain until you meet with the Millenium Army of the Silver Empire. Is that okay?"
Kassandra closed her eyes slightly and communicated with General Vanessa, who was currently controlling the weather in the sky. A moment later, she opened her eyes and nodded slightly to Byron. "I have confirmed the follow-up plan with General Vanessa again. She is just waiting for your signal flare."
"Okay." Byron exhaled softly and then looked at the ticking needle on the mechanical clock. He felt the vibration of the ship under his feet under the bombardment of the main cannons again and again. He had never been so calm before.
Fighting side by side with an ally from the deep sea was not part of his original plan. Also, due to the shocking difference in technology, combat style, and physiological structure between the sirens and the land species, the cooperation between the two parties for the first time was destined to be less than perfect. Instead of coming up with a bunch of tactics that would only lead to problems on the chaotic battlefield due to poor communication, he and Vanessa both believed that they should solve the problem in a simpler and more violent way.
The first step was for the Imperial Expeditionary Fleet, which had long-range heavy firepower, to clear out the battlefield on the Oldo River. They would bombard the vanguard of the mutants with the most powerful shells within range and clear out a large landing area.
The second step was for the soldiers of the Siren Expeditionary Force to rain justice before the mutants could react. With sufficient preparation and form switching in advance, the well-trained sirens could perform airborne operations in the form of rain without worrying about casualties. They would quickly establish a frontline position on the landing area cleared out by Byron. At the same time, the well-prepared 'rain' would also transform the environment of the entire area in a short time, making it closer to the 'water environment' and making it easier for the sirens to perform.
The needle on the mechanical clock reached the last tick, and the continuous roar of the cannons on the river stopped.
"Send the signal," Byron ordered in a deep voice. "It's time to rain."
(End of Chapter)
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